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May 25th

Life is good! Tomorrow Joyce and I leave for our 17 day cross continental trip! You can google our journey destinations; Durban-Maputo(Mozambique)-Johanesburg-Bulawayo(Zimbabwe)-Victoria Falls-Windhoek(Namibia to the orphanage Joyce started with)-Cape Town-Durban!! We will be using Luxery liners, public buses and chicken trucks to get around. We are both very excited and I am ready to get out of the cold weather here in the valleys.
This week South Africa experienced record breaking cold. It snowed 4 hours south of here (in a town we passed through last weekend) and Petermaritzburg was one degree celcius a couple days ago. We dont have any sort of indoor heating so it is just always cold. One night when I brought the kids back from dinner we went into the Creche to find it flooded (the tap was left open) and as we started cleaning the electricity went out. So I had to keep 8 kids happy and out of the water in the pitch dark and cold! Currently in my house the outlet for half the space is blown. So the fridge, burners, and outlets in one corner dont work.

Today Joyce and I ventured into Peitermaritzburg alone. It is the capital of the KwaZulu Natal region about 30 minutes drive from GGA. We started on Church St and went shopping by bartering on the street. We were some of the only white people around. It is a strange feeling to know that white people and black people still dont mix, and all of it is fear based. We were warned twice by white men in cars that it was unsafe to walk around the city. Another shop owner even recommended that we walk on the street away from the allys so as to not get mugged. I find it very interesting that the `black`areas are still the unsafe areas. But it’s confusing to me because you see old women and kids and it’s almost as if every warning we got secretly said „Ist unsafe for you but we dont really care thats it’s unsafe for the black africans.“ This is a concept I want to study more when I get to back to school.
We finally found the taxi rank (which is NOT like NYC!) and asked for the Taxi Buses headed to Cato Ridge. People were very suprised that we wanted to take public transport. Here they fill vans very full and drop you off where ever you need in a specific direction. It’s very convinient and cheap. By the time we made it to our dirt road it was dark and cold and then we ran the last mile home!

It’s hard to explain all the experiences I’m having here, but I currently feel very content. Since my last entry I have travelled to the St Lucia Wetlands park 4 hours north. It is an area that boasts 5 ecosystems in a very small area. Here was our day: first went on a very short hike and happened upon a watering hole where Zebras, and Wildebeast and Impala were hanging out! It was magical! Then we drove 30minutes and arrived at the pristine ocean beach of Cape Vidal. The waters were turquoise and warm. We were the only ones in sight! After swimming and running down small sand dunes we headed to Lake St Lucia and took a boat ride to see Hippos, exotic birds and Crocodiles at sunset! The next day we went on a 12 hour Safari and saw elephant, giraffs, antelope, worthogs, rhino and more zebras!
Holiday in South Africa is simply amazing.

The following weekend we drove 9hours south to Coffee Bay(the same distance from Holland to the south of France!). It is in an area called the Wild Coast where the Xhosa people live in bright turqiouse Rondaveles. The first day I took a 4 hour intense hike led by three local boys who wanted to show us the way. The hike led us through grassy hills and steep cliffs with goats and donkeys, cattle and sheep. We passed through villages and at all times we could see, smell and feel the ocean. Our destination was a place called the hole in the wall. It looked like a site for a pirate ship to be sitting. The hike was more beautiful than I can explain. We ended our day drinking beers and watching the big rugby game with some local old guys in a pub we came across! The second day we went horseback riding up and down the hills and onto the beach. It was so fun to be on a horse again!!

So as you can see I am very much enjoying my time. I would write more about the children but I think it’s a little too personal. This weekend we are doing a creative prayer event with the kids and I look foward to the conversations that come from it.

Thank you fort he support and letters in the mail. Even though I am happy right now I still get lonely and start to miss home.